PHIBLEX 2015 to take place in Luzon

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 19): PHIBLEX 2015 to take place in Luzon

Luzon, including the province of Palawan will be the focus of this year's Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX).

The annual exercise between Filipino and US Marines will take place between Sept. 29 to Oct. 10.

PHIBLEX increases the teamwork between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US Marine air-ground task force, and improves the bilateral response to regional issues, humanitarian disasters and maritime-security needs within the Asia-Pacific region, a US Embassy in Manila statement said Friday.

Philippine Navy (PN) and Marine Corps alongside US Marines and sailors of 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and Commander, Task Force 76 will participate in this 31st iteration of PHIBLEX.

It will focus on the enhancement of the Philippine Navy and Marine Corps’ amphibious operations capacity.

US Marines and sailors arrived Friday to begin preparations for follow-on forces and the civil-military operations they will conduct to benefit the Filipino people living near the training areas.

These benefits include providing free medical and dental treatment to local citizens while completing engineering and construction projects that will provide additional classrooms and necessities to the community.

Approximately 3,500 US service members based in Okinawa, Japan, and the United States, as well as 1,200 Philippine sailors and Marines, will work shoulder-to-shoulder conducting a command post exercise; field training exercises, which include small arms and artillery live-fire training; amphibious operations; ship-to-shore movement; combined arms training; civil-military operations; and humanitarian and civic assistance projects.

The focus of the command post exercise being conducted during PHIBLEX this year will increase the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ capability to conduct planning and effective execution of bilateral maritime security and territorial defense operations.

The field training exercises will provide the Philippine and US Marine units multiple opportunities to continue to improve their skills while sharing best practices and enhancing an already high level of cohesion.

Additionally, Philippine and US forces will conduct a series of humanitarian and civic assistance projects, including engineering civic action projects that will improve local infrastructure, and cooperative health engagements to share medical best practices and assist the local Filipino medical community with treating patients.

Bilateral Philippine-US military training opportunities such as PHIBLEX 15 fortify the strong foundation of interoperability and enrich the relationship we have across a range of military operations — from disaster relief, to complex expeditionary maneuvers.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=686216